"We have parents to monitor bus stops, the buses, ride the school buses to school and ride the school buses back home to keep the kids safe on the way to school and on the way home," said parent Latule Love.

Love said he's saw the effects of bullying firsthand when his son was attacked at school.

"He was being bullied on a regular basis, and we didn't know about it until he was talking and contemplating suicide," said Love.

Casey said he's hoping for swift passage of his anti-bullying bill, which he introduced in the Senate. It calls for every school that receives federal dollars to devise a comprehensive anti-bullying plan.

He believes students will play a vital role in ending the problem.

"If you can't do that, if you can't go directly to the bully and say, 'Stop doing that' or 'I saw you and I'm going to report you,' then figure out a way to tell a parent, a parent, a teacher or someone here at the school," said Casey.

Casey said 60,000 students in the country skip school every day because they're bullied.

Eight-grader Caitlin Pistella said it means a lot to know the senator has their backs.

"I myself have been bullied, and just seeing him try to help kids like that, like, things that I've gone through is just overwhelming," she said.